theboatmovers

Exactly when has any UN treaty stopped genocide? Wasn't it the UN that sat on it's hands during the genocide in Rwanda? The only way to stop genocide is with brut force. How successful has the UN been in brokering peace in Syria. We don't pay enough in energy costs why don't we sign on to cap and trade. Brilliant!

I'm sorry forgive my naiveté, but the figures in the chart. Should I be concerned that they come from a group called NJ Citizens action "It's time they pay their fare share we can't afford the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy few. Citizens for tax Justice"? I'm just saying could you have gotten your figures from a more partisan organization? Doubtful.

We are a family of 5. 3 children mom, dad. We enjoy taking the kids into the city and take advantage of all it has to offer and would love to take the train from Perth Amboy. The problem is it's not worth it, I have EZ pass if you sign up for their carpool program it's $3.50 over the outerbridge we ride to the staten island ferry park for I think $8. The staten island ferry is free and the kids get a nice boat ride out of it. It jus doesn't make dollars or sense.

Be careful what you wish for we have people on the ballot. As far as this statement "Get on the ballet and run for the board and lets see if you will be loved by all." When you run for an office it should be about leadership not being loved by all. When you lead some people will not be happy because you can't please everyone. That it is the problem with this board there are no leaders on it. Flip flopping on the Super you hired 3months into it is a epoch fail on their part. Leading from behind the PABOE way.

Voluminous? Well excuse me all over. It appears Bored has the inside baseball knowledge backed up with details and you retort with conspiracy theories! If I didn't know them on a personal level I might believe your tripe. But since I do, I can say your full of it. BTW at this point as a taxpayer I could really give a rip if the teachers are unhappy with Dr. Cafferey they are paid to be professionals and do a job. You don't get to decide who your boss is and you don't get to choose what directives come down. Furthermore you better get used to her B/c she will be here for at least 2 more years and if some of us here in town can help it for the next 10. The triumvirate of of Slimy Lebrault, Pussyo, and the village idiot Valera are going down this fall.

O snap y'all just got served by bored! I'll say it again the great teachers in PA are not on these boards and are not at the board meetings cheering at pussios angry and pandering rants. They're too busy with their nose to the grind stone making it happen. Some of y'all have got your grumpy pants on :(

Once more pussyo, slimy Lebrault , the village idiot Valera , and milady she's no lady display their collective ineptitude by playing politics with a simple vote. They can't fire her because they cannot prove the 24 charges so they are playing games with her hires. It's a miracle these dim wits can get out of bed and tie their shoes in the morning. They keep trying to operate as if the law doesn't exist, they are very angry little people. They think they're so clever but they are as transparent as glass.

I'll take the bait, since your living a nightmare. Where are your ancestors from? And how many languages do you speak? I speak 3 and many here speak 2. Oh, I see if you were dropped say in France you would speak write and read it by osmosis the moment you stepped on french soil, just from pure brilliance. Right? You probably leave for Florida twice a year and consider that traveling abroad.

I won't expend my energy refuting conspiracy theories. You and your friends have put forth many of them including $200,000 missing from the school she owned. I fact check some of the nonsense people put out there and have found nothing. Please explain exactly how a person steals from oneself? Since she owned the school.
See what you all do not seem to get because of your blind ideology is this, any normal human being can look at her experience and recognize that these are assets. The people she has met over her career and organizations that are putting together new innovated ways of educating children are all assets she brings to the table. Businesses should hire outside consulting firms to look at the entire system so that they can suggest how things can be done better. If they make a profit so what! We are spending $14,000 per student here, that is a ridiculous amount of money. I could send my kids to a prestigious boarding school for that kind of money and have change left over.

You teachers are preparing students for the marketplace and you behave like profits is a dirty word. All kinds of people are profiting from the schools for better or worse, and mostly for worse given the results.
Throwing more money at the problem has not worked. So I'm looking forward to the changes that are coming. Some of you are on the wrong side of history, it's time to change or move out of the way.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it JerzyJokeman!

PS I can't having anyones postings removed here I have no idea why anyone would believe that. Because the more the conspiracy theorist write the more ridiculous they look.

I won't expend my energy refuting conspiracy theories. You and your friends have put forth many of them including $200,000 missing from the school she owned. I fact check some of the nonsense people put out there and have found nothing. Please explain exactly how a person steals from oneself? Since she owned the school.
See what you all do not seem to get because of your blind ideology is this, any normal human being can look at her experience and recognize that these are assets. The people she has met over her career and organizations that are putting together new innovated ways of educating children are all assets she brings to the table. Businesses should hire outside consulting firms to look at the entire system so that they can suggest how things can be done better. If they make a profit so what! We are spending $14,000 per student here, that is a ridiculous amount of money. I could send my kids to a prestigious boarding school for that kind of money and have change left over.

You teachers are preparing students for the marketplace and you behave like profits is a dirty word. All kinds of people are profiting from the schools for better or worse, and mostly for worse given the results.
Throwing more money at the problem has not worked. So I'm looking forward to the changes that are coming. Some of you are on the wrong side of history, it's time to change or move out of the way.

Oh no, what happened? I guess the gutless wonder empty suit Slimy Lebrault got the message. I'm glad someone in Trenton is looking out for us the taxpayers. We are spending $14,000 per student and our High School ranked 318 out of 322 and this BOE thinks they can just give away $500,000 because they can't take the heat from a few rabble rousing teachers. In looking forward to the next few years to see if we can improve our district. If the results are poor then we can debate whether or not Dr. Cafferey keeps her job.

I just posted her resume which she posted on her blog. I'm sure there are reporters out there that would love to bring down Dr. Cafferey. In the meantime I'm going to believe unsubstantiated claims on the internet by teacher bloggers because they don't have a horse in this race? Yeah, ok.. Until the media comes forward with these pro ported crimes it's rumor. One of your friends was insinuating $200,000 was missing from the school she created in FL. Could not find any news story on the internet about it. Well guess what she owned the school. So exactly how does one steal from oneself? Her releasing her resume was a brilliant PR move. Open book, here it is investigate me.

I WANT TO SEE THE PA BOARD OF ED's RESUMES SUBJECT YOUR PAST TO SCRUTINNY LETS SEE IF YOUR STORIES CHECK OUT.

And you know there was a second shooter near the grassy knoll. Wow that is a whopper. You should forward those allegations to the Star Ledger I'm sure they will appreciate you doing their job for them. Holy Cow this runs all the way to Rupert Merdoch. You are a regular Rachel Madow. Good thing we have the FBI to investigate these kind of crimes.

@outrgeuos, you probably wouldn't know unless you lived here but the demographics have changed it's mostly Dominican now. Maybe you want to say Perth Dominica or something like that. Most of the Puerto Ricans I grew up with have moved up and out, except I guess this dumb Puerto Rican. You see that the Perth Amboy Public Schools failed me I'm too dumb to move out! LOL

Here is Dr. Cafferey's life story it is an open book for any reporter or the ridiculous JerzyJazzman some hack blogger to investigate. Her resume is unassailable and her master is not from Grand Canyon university that mail order diploma school.

Just in Case You Were Wondering Posted by JANINE WALKER-CAFFREY at 5/29/2012 I am writing this entry in a response to the many rumors that are currently swirling around our district. We need to focus on the kids and families we serve, so I believe it might be helpful to put these rumors to rest. Anyone who still has questions is more than welcome to call, email, text, or talk to me face-to-face. I would be delighted to come to your school and have lunch with you or meet with you during your prep, teacher team meetings, or before or after school. You are also welcome to make an appointment to come and meet with me at my office. I want us all to continue to engage in honest dialogue so we can move forward together. Just in case you were wondering…
1. I graduated from Rowan University – back in the days when it was known as Glassboro State – with a very traditional degree. I majored in special education, earned a B.A. in 1984, and became certified as a teacher of the handicapped in New Jersey. I earned my master’s degree in educational administration from Penn State in 1991. My thesis topic was “Comparing the Educational Impact of State Education Funding in Pennsylvania and South Carolina.” I earned my doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in 1998. My dissertation topic was “Improving Educational Quality in Juvenile Justice Programs through Student Assessment.”

2. Just after earning my master’s degree, I received my first administrative certificate from South Carolina. I have also held teaching and administrative certificates in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, and New York. All of my teaching experience was in public schools as a special education teacher, including Camden City and Burlington County Special Services. Yes, I do have an administrative certificate in New Jersey. Just like everyone else who comes into the state (I was only certified as a teacher in NJ previously), when I returned to my home state, I had to go through the normal process. I got a certificate of eligibility in administration, was hired by a school district and assigned a mentor by the county superintendent. I then received my provisional certificate and had to complete the mentoring program. I have completed my mentoring requirements and will receive my standard certificate at the end of June. Even though I had the same type of certificate in three other states, and had a total of about 18 years of administrative experience, I had to go through this process.

3. No, I have never attended the Broad Institute, so I would not be considered a “Broadie.”

4. Yes, I did work for AMIkids. This amazing organization is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping troubled kids, through partnerships with local school districts, social services agencies, and juvenile justice agencies. I worked for them for 10 years and am very proud of the work I did. My job included oversight of alternative schools (which were actually public schools) in many states and school districts, including the cities of Chicago, New Orleans and Miami – just to name a few. Yes, I would like AMIkids to work with Perth Amboy Public Schools, to assist us in improving our I&RS system, and to support teachers in dealing with children with behavioral issues. This would be a short-term arrangement, and result in an overall increase of capacity among educators, counselors, and support staff in dealing with students with behavioral challenges. No, there is nothing in it for me – other than the satisfaction of helping kids.

5. Yes, I did work for the New York City Department of Education, and my official title was assistant superintendent. New York’s system is very complex, and those of us with the title of assistant superintendent did not report directly to superintendents, so we were given “functional” titles relative to our assignments. I was assigned to a Children First Network (every one of NYC’s over 1500 schools chooses its own support network) to work with 25 schools, serving over 10,000 students. Over half of those schools serve immigrant students exclusively. In that assignment, I was known as an Achievement Manager. My responsibilities were very similar to those of Dr. Vivian Rodriguez, and every other assistant superintendent I have ever known.

6. Yes, my husband and I did own and operate a private school in Florida called Renaissance Academy, that accepts state scholarships (vouchers) for children with special needs and those from low income families. Yes, it is a tax-paying organization – not a non-profit. No, I did not make any money doing it. The reason my husband and I decided to incorporate it as a tax-paying organization was because we used our own money to start the school. We cashed in my pension, took out personal loans, and sold our home to raise the money. We actually lived in a converted conference room over the school because we had to sell our home to make it work. A non-profit organization requires financial control by a board of trustees, and we were not comfortable releasing control of our money to a volunteer group. There are some who are saying that we stole money from Renaissance Academy. I am not sure how that is possible, since we would only have stolen from ourselves. We did eventually partner with another married couple when the school’s survival was in question. That couple now owns and operates the school themselves. The only thing that we still have is the debt, which we continue to repay, and the satisfaction of knowing there are children who have graduated high school and college who may have otherwise not had that opportunity.

7. No, I did not know Christopher Cerf prior to coming to Perth Amboy. We were not even acquaintances. We may have worked in the same building in NYC at one time, but I am not sure. That building housed over 700 employees, so I didn’t know everyone there. The first time I ever had a conversation with Mr. Cerf was in 2012 when I attended a superintendents’ meeting at the New Jersey Association of School Administrators. I think the conversation lasted all of five minutes. A few weeks later, we spoke on a panel together at Princeton University that was a reflection of No Child Left Behind. Cerf spoke as a policy maker, and I as a practitioner who has been an educator throughout NCLB’s history. That’s it. That is the extent of our “relationship.”

8. No, I did not know Joel Rose prior to coming to Perth Amboy. I think I did meet him a couple of times when I was working in NYC, but when I reached out to him last fall, he told me he did not recall our ever meeting. I never worked directly with him, and never saw him outside of the work setting. His work team was creating School-of-One a few years ago and was assigned a work table in a large conference room, next to where my work team was assigned. That was how I learned about School-of-One. I was interested in it since it was so innovative, and went on a tour. I was very intrigued, but did not have any involvement with the program while I worked in NYC, and hadn’t thought much about it since. In October, 2011, Donna Chiera invited me to attend a conference in Boston called “Extended Learning Time.” I was so honored that the AFT was willing to pay for me to attend this conference and excited by the possibility of collaborating with our union president. Joel Rose happened to be presenting in one of the workshops I attended. In the workshop, I learned that Rose had created a new non-profit organization that was looking to bring new transformative innovations to districts around the country. I thought it might be something that would interest our schools since they were really struggling with math achievement. Rose met with Dr. Garcia and other PAPS administrators and then came to Perth Amboy to meet with the faculty and staff at McGinnis Middle School to explore whether both sides felt a partnership would make for a good fit. Following that meeting, the McGinnis teachers successfully convinced the Board of Education to bring this to Perth Amboy. McGinnis is currently in the middle of a pilot after-school program (which Dr Garcia and the program's teachers have said is going extremely well). The program is now known as Teach-to-One Math, and is operated by a non-profit organization called New Classrooms, under the leadership of Joel Rose and Chris Rush. Although Joel Rose worked in the same department as Chris Cerf at one time, Cerf has no affiliation with this program. There is a rumor that other school systems have gotten the program “for free.” This is a highly sophisticated program that depends on a team of skilled professionals. It would not be possible for it to be free. New York City contracted with New Classrooms to manage School of One and will be licensing to New Classrooms the software code associated with School of One, rather than making any cash payments. Chicago is paying for it through a grant it received from the local Chicago business community as well as contributions from local school budgets. Perth Amboy has not had the blessing of an outside grant, but can pay for it through its own funding sources, just as it pays for textbooks and other services. And, despite the insistence of some conspiracy theorists, this program is not designed to steal money from Perth Amboy Public Schools. We are all just hoping that our kids will get a better education by being a part of it.

9. No, my husband doesn’t have a business and is no longer working with students. He began his professional life as a New Jersey State Trooper. He has also been a warehouse manager, an instructor with AMIkids, a disciplinarian in public schools, and the best dean of students I could ever hope for at Renaissance Academy. He worked for free for six years, while I took a minimal salary for my work. If you ask him what he does, he will likely tell you that taking care of me is a full-time job. Drew and I have two children, who are now grown and live on their own. We have had two former students share our home with us over the years, but currently have no kids at home.

10. Drew and I moved to Perth Amboy on New Year’s Day and absolutely love living here. No, we do not own any property in New York City, although we do enjoy visiting.

11. Contrary to rumors, I have NOT put in place a new student retention policy. I believe we need to take a good look at what we are doing when students fail or don’t acquire the skills they need to move to the next grade. What I have instructed principals to do is to work collaboratively with teachers to determine what is in the best interest of each individual child. If everyone agrees that the child should be retained, what will be done differently the following year to ensure success? We can’t just do the same thing again and expect different results. We have been engaging in dialogue about this issue for some time now. As a result, educators are developing new approaches in their schools to help more children find success.

12. The only thing that changed in our discipline policy is the issue of student suspension. In order to suspend a student, there must be a conversation between a building administrator and myself. Sometimes, in very clear-cut cases, the conversation takes place through a simple email or text. Sometimes it is a lengthier phone or in-person dialogue. Other times, we might get the child study team involved. Regardless, it happens very quickly so the school can respond in a timely manner. I believe we have a responsibility to be thoughtful about removing a child’s right to an education. The result of this policy has been a student-centered, instructional approach to discipline that considers the need to keep others safe, while assisting the student with the discipline issue. Although our suspension rate has decreased markedly, we certainly still DO suspend students. And no, school violence has NOT increased. In fact, overall discipline issues have actually decreased. We certainly have a lot to do to improve student behavior, but what we are doing is putting us on the right track. I applaud all of our principals, vice principals, teachers, and counselors for working so hard this year to improve our results with our kids.

13. No, I did NOT know anyone whom I recommended for hire in Perth Amboy. Not one person. Dr. Nestor Collazo was hired by the Board of Education at the same time I was. The first time I met him was when we were both appointed to our positions at a BOE meeting. A Board member recommended that I interview Mr. Alvaro Cores for the principal position at Richardson in July. He went through the same process as everyone else, and was hired because he was the very best candidate for that position. Hands down. The reason that the three of us seem to be aligned is because of the Board. This Board of Education, in 2011, stated continually that they were committed to educational improvement of Perth Amboy Public Schools. They were bold and courageous, and looked for educational leaders who shared their vision and philosophy of education. So if it seems that Nestor, Al, and I share an agenda, we do. It is the agenda established by this Board of Education when we were all hired in 2011.

14. Yes, I am for school choice, but no, I am not working to bring more charter schools to Perth Amboy. There are no current or potential applications that I am aware of to bring any new charter schools here. My job here is to improve our schools and ensure that every child has an opportunity to receive a high quality education. The Academy for Urban Leadership is now completing its second year of operation in our community. It currently serves about 200 students and will increase to 400 students over the next two years. There is a new virtual charter school available for students who have dropped out of school that has the potential to serve some of the students we have already lost. These are OUR kids, so our school district should support and partner with AUL and the Virtual Charter as appropriate, just as it does with our preschool providers, private schools, vocational school, and post-secondary institutions. We routinely share services with ALL of these organizations, and will continue to do so to benefit our children and families. Thanks to all of you who have maintained your focus on the students and families of Perth Amboy. Hopefully by discussing this information, we can put some rumors to rest.

Just in Case You Were Wondering Posted by JANINE WALKER-CAFFREY at 5/29/2012 I am writing this entry in a response to the many rumors that are currently swirling around our district. We need to focus on the kids and families we serve, so I believe it might be helpful to put these rumors to rest. Anyone who still has questions is more than welcome to call, email, text, or talk to me face-to-face. I would be delighted to come to your school and have lunch with you or meet with you during your prep, teacher team meetings, or before or after school. You are also welcome to make an appointment to come and meet with me at my office. I want us all to continue to engage in honest dialogue so we can move forward together. Just in case you were wondering…
1. I graduated from Rowan University – back in the days when it was known as Glassboro State – with a very traditional degree. I majored in special education, earned a B.A. in 1984, and became certified as a teacher of the handicapped in New Jersey. I earned my master’s degree in educational administration from Penn State in 1991. My thesis topic was “Comparing the Educational Impact of State Education Funding in Pennsylvania and South Carolina.” I earned my doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in 1998. My dissertation topic was “Improving Educational Quality in Juvenile Justice Programs through Student Assessment.”

2. Just after earning my master’s degree, I received my first administrative certificate from South Carolina. I have also held teaching and administrative certificates in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, and New York. All of my teaching experience was in public schools as a special education teacher, including Camden City and Burlington County Special Services. Yes, I do have an administrative certificate in New Jersey. Just like everyone else who comes into the state (I was only certified as a teacher in NJ previously), when I returned to my home state, I had to go through the normal process. I got a certificate of eligibility in administration, was hired by a school district and assigned a mentor by the county superintendent. I then received my provisional certificate and had to complete the mentoring program. I have completed my mentoring requirements and will receive my standard certificate at the end of June. Even though I had the same type of certificate in three other states, and had a total of about 18 years of administrative experience, I had to go through this process.

3. No, I have never attended the Broad Institute, so I would not be considered a “Broadie.”

4. Yes, I did work for AMIkids. This amazing organization is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping troubled kids, through partnerships with local school districts, social services agencies, and juvenile justice agencies. I worked for them for 10 years and am very proud of the work I did. My job included oversight of alternative schools (which were actually public schools) in many states and school districts, including the cities of Chicago, New Orleans and Miami – just to name a few. Yes, I would like AMIkids to work with Perth Amboy Public Schools, to assist us in improving our I&RS system, and to support teachers in dealing with children with behavioral issues. This would be a short-term arrangement, and result in an overall increase of capacity among educators, counselors, and support staff in dealing with students with behavioral challenges. No, there is nothing in it for me – other than the satisfaction of helping kids.

5. Yes, I did work for the New York City Department of Education, and my official title was assistant superintendent. New York’s system is very complex, and those of us with the title of assistant superintendent did not report directly to superintendents, so we were given “functional” titles relative to our assignments. I was assigned to a Children First Network (every one of NYC’s over 1500 schools chooses its own support network) to work with 25 schools, serving over 10,000 students. Over half of those schools serve immigrant students exclusively. In that assignment, I was known as an Achievement Manager. My responsibilities were very similar to those of Dr. Vivian Rodriguez, and every other assistant superintendent I have ever known.

6. Yes, my husband and I did own and operate a private school in Florida called Renaissance Academy, that accepts state scholarships (vouchers) for children with special needs and those from low income families. Yes, it is a tax-paying organization – not a non-profit. No, I did not make any money doing it. The reason my husband and I decided to incorporate it as a tax-paying organization was because we used our own money to start the school. We cashed in my pension, took out personal loans, and sold our home to raise the money. We actually lived in a converted conference room over the school because we had to sell our home to make it work. A non-profit organization requires financial control by a board of trustees, and we were not comfortable releasing control of our money to a volunteer group. There are some who are saying that we stole money from Renaissance Academy. I am not sure how that is possible, since we would only have stolen from ourselves. We did eventually partner with another married couple when the school’s survival was in question. That couple now owns and operates the school themselves. The only thing that we still have is the debt, which we continue to repay, and the satisfaction of knowing there are children who have graduated high school and college who may have otherwise not had that opportunity.

7. No, I did not know Christopher Cerf prior to coming to Perth Amboy. We were not even acquaintances. We may have worked in the same building in NYC at one time, but I am not sure. That building housed over 700 employees, so I didn’t know everyone there. The first time I ever had a conversation with Mr. Cerf was in 2012 when I attended a superintendents’ meeting at the New Jersey Association of School Administrators. I think the conversation lasted all of five minutes. A few weeks later, we spoke on a panel together at Princeton University that was a reflection of No Child Left Behind. Cerf spoke as a policy maker, and I as a practitioner who has been an educator throughout NCLB’s history. That’s it. That is the extent of our “relationship.”

8. No, I did not know Joel Rose prior to coming to Perth Amboy. I think I did meet him a couple of times when I was working in NYC, but when I reached out to him last fall, he told me he did not recall our ever meeting. I never worked directly with him, and never saw him outside of the work setting. His work team was creating School-of-One a few years ago and was assigned a work table in a large conference room, next to where my work team was assigned. That was how I learned about School-of-One. I was interested in it since it was so innovative, and went on a tour. I was very intrigued, but did not have any involvement with the program while I worked in NYC, and hadn’t thought much about it since. In October, 2011, Donna Chiera invited me to attend a conference in Boston called “Extended Learning Time.” I was so honored that the AFT was willing to pay for me to attend this conference and excited by the possibility of collaborating with our union president. Joel Rose happened to be presenting in one of the workshops I attended. In the workshop, I learned that Rose had created a new non-profit organization that was looking to bring new transformative innovations to districts around the country. I thought it might be something that would interest our schools since they were really struggling with math achievement. Rose met with Dr. Garcia and other PAPS administrators and then came to Perth Amboy to meet with the faculty and staff at McGinnis Middle School to explore whether both sides felt a partnership would make for a good fit. Following that meeting, the McGinnis teachers successfully convinced the Board of Education to bring this to Perth Amboy. McGinnis is currently in the middle of a pilot after-school program (which Dr Garcia and the program's teachers have said is going extremely well). The program is now known as Teach-to-One Math, and is operated by a non-profit organization called New Classrooms, under the leadership of Joel Rose and Chris Rush. Although Joel Rose worked in the same department as Chris Cerf at one time, Cerf has no affiliation with this program. There is a rumor that other school systems have gotten the program “for free.” This is a highly sophisticated program that depends on a team of skilled professionals. It would not be possible for it to be free. New York City contracted with New Classrooms to manage School of One and will be licensing to New Classrooms the software code associated with School of One, rather than making any cash payments. Chicago is paying for it through a grant it received from the local Chicago business community as well as contributions from local school budgets. Perth Amboy has not had the blessing of an outside grant, but can pay for it through its own funding sources, just as it pays for textbooks and other services. And, despite the insistence of some conspiracy theorists, this program is not designed to steal money from Perth Amboy Public Schools. We are all just hoping that our kids will get a better education by being a part of it.

9. No, my husband doesn’t have a business and is no longer working with students. He began his professional life as a New Jersey State Trooper. He has also been a warehouse manager, an instructor with AMIkids, a disciplinarian in public schools, and the best dean of students I could ever hope for at Renaissance Academy. He worked for free for six years, while I took a minimal salary for my work. If you ask him what he does, he will likely tell you that taking care of me is a full-time job. Drew and I have two children, who are now grown and live on their own. We have had two former students share our home with us over the years, but currently have no kids at home.

10. Drew and I moved to Perth Amboy on New Year’s Day and absolutely love living here. No, we do not own any property in New York City, although we do enjoy visiting.

11. Contrary to rumors, I have NOT put in place a new student retention policy. I believe we need to take a good look at what we are doing when students fail or don’t acquire the skills they need to move to the next grade. What I have instructed principals to do is to work collaboratively with teachers to determine what is in the best interest of each individual child. If everyone agrees that the child should be retained, what will be done differently the following year to ensure success? We can’t just do the same thing again and expect different results. We have been engaging in dialogue about this issue for some time now. As a result, educators are developing new approaches in their schools to help more children find success.

12. The only thing that changed in our discipline policy is the issue of student suspension. In order to suspend a student, there must be a conversation between a building administrator and myself. Sometimes, in very clear-cut cases, the conversation takes place through a simple email or text. Sometimes it is a lengthier phone or in-person dialogue. Other times, we might get the child study team involved. Regardless, it happens very quickly so the school can respond in a timely manner. I believe we have a responsibility to be thoughtful about removing a child’s right to an education. The result of this policy has been a student-centered, instructional approach to discipline that considers the need to keep others safe, while assisting the student with the discipline issue. Although our suspension rate has decreased markedly, we certainly still DO suspend students. And no, school violence has NOT increased. In fact, overall discipline issues have actually decreased. We certainly have a lot to do to improve student behavior, but what we are doing is putting us on the right track. I applaud all of our principals, vice principals, teachers, and counselors for working so hard this year to improve our results with our kids.

13. No, I did NOT know anyone whom I recommended for hire in Perth Amboy. Not one person. Dr. Nestor Collazo was hired by the Board of Education at the same time I was. The first time I met him was when we were both appointed to our positions at a BOE meeting. A Board member recommended that I interview Mr. Alvaro Cores for the principal position at Richardson in July. He went through the same process as everyone else, and was hired because he was the very best candidate for that position. Hands down. The reason that the three of us seem to be aligned is because of the Board. This Board of Education, in 2011, stated continually that they were committed to educational improvement of Perth Amboy Public Schools. They were bold and courageous, and looked for educational leaders who shared their vision and philosophy of education. So if it seems that Nestor, Al, and I share an agenda, we do. It is the agenda established by this Board of Education when we were all hired in 2011.

14. Yes, I am for school choice, but no, I am not working to bring more charter schools to Perth Amboy. There are no current or potential applications that I am aware of to bring any new charter schools here. My job here is to improve our schools and ensure that every child has an opportunity to receive a high quality education. The Academy for Urban Leadership is now completing its second year of operation in our community. It currently serves about 200 students and will increase to 400 students over the next two years. There is a new virtual charter school available for students who have dropped out of school that has the potential to serve some of the students we have already lost. These are OUR kids, so our school district should support and partner with AUL and the Virtual Charter as appropriate, just as it does with our preschool providers, private schools, vocational school, and post-secondary institutions. We routinely share services with ALL of these organizations, and will continue to do so to benefit our children and families. Thanks to all of you who have maintained your focus on the students and families of Perth Amboy. Hopefully by discussing this information, we can put some rumors to rest.

Don't believe the hype mistermarcus. Our students are so poor they all have xboxes, play stations and every other has a iPod. They want you to accept their excuses in order to keep the piggies feeding at the trough.